Hand splint

ID: A pale yellow plastic medical splint, with a hand and forearm shape. It is designed so the wearer places their hand inside, supported and straightened by the plastic. It has Velcro straps to keep it fastened. This hand splint was used by Phil Hume. Phil is originally from Luton but has lived in Merseyside for many years. He now lives in Bootle. Phil was born with a limb difference in his left hand and arm, and he had an operation in the early 2000s to straighten it. He used the splint, which helped to keep it straight, every night for about 2 to 3 years. However, Phil remembers that his hand would seize up when using the splint and said that it became uncomfortable and very painful, so he eventually stopped using it. Phil kept the splint as a memory of the operation but says that “it still haunts me a little”. He says: “I didn’t tell the doctors at the time that the splint was painful. I felt like I couldn’t and was used to just accepting everything.” He believes that by donating his splint to the Museum, he is passing it on to a good new home. It reminds him that the operation changed his mobility for the better, and of how he has learned to speak up for himself since then. Phil has been a member of People First Merseyside, a self-advocacy group for adults with learning disabilities, since around 2007. He says that he has learned a great deal through being a member of the group. Phil believes that people with learning disabilities need to be around the right people and have the right support to help others.